Mad Men (Season 7 Part 1)

[Mara]

We're bi-coastal now.

[Mara]

I have long thoughts that I don't want to type on my phone, but here's a short thought: Pete's realtor is Jessy Schram, who I only know as Hannah from Veronica Mars. But she looks so much like Anna Camp that I thought they were bringing that character back.

[Lucky]

Yeesh, this show is a bummer when both Peggy and Don are feeling defeated. At least Roger and Pete are having ...lively character shifts. Is that the last we'll see of Neve? Seems like a slight one ep role to hand to a recognizable actress.

On, and nice dress, Megan.

[slqrick]

Amazing premiere. Everything about it felt like a show at its most confident, even if the narrative direction is still a little murky.

I also hate the decision to break the final season in two like Breaking Bad.

[slqrick]

There's just something really comforting about the small victories for the characters on this show.

[Lucky]

February 14th: Masturbate gloomily

[Mara]

This was a great episode that hit all the buttons of what Mad Men does better than anyone else: making likeable characters act like assholes, making unlikeable characters sympathetic, and gut-punching me with a line as simple as "I love you."

[quido8_5]

So, I don’t know how to start this post because I haven’t posted for the last 6 years because I work in education and only recently started plugging back into the Match-Cut discussion threads. One of the things that drew me back is the relatively rich discussion about TV shows that delve into the subtext and artistry of certain shows (specifically this, GoT and True Detective). Props to number8, Krazy, Lucky and especially Mara for providing tons of awesome analysis over the last few years.

I’m sad that there’s not much action going on in this thread thus far. I’ve found the last two episodes to be some of the more masterful and brilliantly realized episodes of the series. Especially this last episode, so much was accomplished through quiet, yet powerful moments. The commentary about growing up in the 60s seems less forced as the series continues. Don't know if they knew where they were going during Season 1, but damn if they don't make it seem like everything up to this point has been apart of a grand narrative.

For instance, in this episode, the way that the relationship that has been built up between Don and Sally came to a head in two scenes full of devastating dialogue and intense acting. I can see some legitimate arguments about the family-plot being a little too on-the-nose; however, I don’t find it dishonest. As a new dad, I find the story line hugely resonate (last year's scene with Planet of the Apes was one of my favorites of the season). The moments in the car and the diner are some of the most authentic and complex family scenes I've watched on either small or silver screen. Certainly rivals the Tony/Meadow moments in College. Of course, The Sopranos managed to do it in the first season.

At the same time, that brings up something that I love most about Mad Men: it is not trying to be anything but itself. With some small hiccups, we’ve had 6 seasons and 2 episodes of well-crafted, subtle and slow-burning drama that it is pretty damn unique.

[DavidSeven]

Mad Men: it is not trying to be anything but itself.

A big reason why it's one of my favorite things. Not just TV things. World things. I'm seriously dreading the conclusion of this series. I feel like I could watch this show forever.

Loved the first two episodes.

[Gittes]

Fantastic season so far.

I noticed a commenter suggesting it was a bold move to offer us a premiere that seemed so decidedly melancholy, with little in the way of any celebratory beats or novelties (i.e., beginning in Hawaii, Paré's "Zou Bisou Bisou" rendition). I'm not sure this is all that bold for Mad Men, though. I wouldn't argue that it's a particularly unusual "risk," as this is a show that is beginning its final season, and Weiner et al have offered similarly understated premieres in the past.

At any rate, it was a really lovely premiere that in no way squandered the sense of narrative renewal and pathos that accumulated so rapidly during the denouement of season 6 (the last three episodes of the former season featured what are perhaps my favourite developments in the history of the series). I loved the languor of the shots of Don at Megan's gloomy Los Angeles abode: brooding at the television late at night, slumped on the couch with the Playboy magazine ironically splayed, the sense of vague discontent and sadness inflecting Don and Megan's attempts at intimacy, etc.

I was struck by how quiet, weary and lugubrious the whole episode was. This may be my favourite premiere of the entire series.

"A Day's Work" was also phenomenal. Don and Sally's closing scene was amazing and it's undoubtedly one of the show's best moments. I've really enjoyed the way their relationship has been handled since Sally caught Don in flagrante; their connection is now absolutely one of the most interesting and important elements of the show.

[quido8_5]

Well, thank God for John Hamm 'cause I don't know too many actors who could pull off that line. Probably my least favorite episode of the season, but still rivals any episode of Game of Thrones thus far (my other main squeeze). Just speaks to the show's consistency.

A lot of that goes back to how deftly they weave and evolve story lines. My wife convinced me to revisit the first season and I'm so glad that I did. I initially skipped it because I couldn't get over the blatant sexism, but now I appreciate how honest they were because it helps me appreciate how far we've come in six seasons. Dropping the "Carousel" line in this episode was pretty freaking awesome, especially given the context. Also, after finally watching the first season have a newfound respect for Crane who I previously thought was solid but still kind of morally bankrupt. Don't give me wrong, he's still morally bankrupt -just like everyone else- but I feel like he has a core value system. What's-his-fuck's comment to him about lying, this episode, was a low blow. If they lose Crane, that would definitely make me sad.

Also, Pete as a dad <3.

[slqrick]

Love the way they're dealing with Don's reintegration into the office. It's just really brilliant and even if some moments aren't nuanced (giving him Lane's office), the callbacks to previous seasons like the Mets pennant both pays homage to the show's past and simultaneously drives forward the idea of finality. Just really perfect.

[Mara]

I don't dislike the last couple of episodes, but I'm not sure where we're going. Glad Don decided to put on his big boy pants at the end, though.

The line Don has about his issues with Harry going back years... it made me think about how angry all these chqracters are with each other, and its been going on so long that thet don't care where it started. It's just anger feeding on anger.

[DavidSeven]

Yeah; plus, Don/Peggy stuff is always good. The commune stuff felt a little too on-the-nose for me, and the parallelism seemed uncharacteristically forced. More Roger, however, is better than no Roger, so I kind of give it a pass.

[quido8_5]

Yeah; plus, Don/Peggy stuff is always good. The commune stuff felt a little too on-the-nose for me, and the parallelism seemed uncharacteristically forced. More Roger, however, is better than no Roger, so I kind of give it a pass.

Agreed, felt like a lot of this episode was on-the-nose. Maybe I'm giving them too much credit, but I thought they were able to make it self-referential. For instance, Cooper's line to Don about the way life is and the initial conversation with the computer guy ("our ability to recognize the infinite," or whatever). This made the ending hit extra hard for me, Freddy's advice was so blunt and perfectly reasonable. Freddy's character development has been one of the most surprisingly rich and complex of the series.

While I'm itching for less circular storytelling, I get the feeling that we're going somewhere.

[Qrazy]

The show has always been on the nose guys.

"Going down?"

[quido8_5]

The show has always been on the nose guys.

"Going down?"

Exactly. I find it quite charming at this point.

[Mara]

Holy crap on a cracker.

[Gittes]

I am really enjoying Don's role this season. Following countless downward spirals, seeing the character in a more proactive and resourceful mode is compelling and fresh. It's not only interesting that he's been recast as the diminished and antagonized underdog, but that he's opted to endure (more or less) the attendant humiliations and miseries of this role, while simultaneously renewing his creative energies in order to survive (i.e., the conclusion of "The Runaways").

I also like the way Don submitted to the ménage Ã* trios with an air of confusion and inertia, like someone yielding to the hypnotic rhythms of something curiously alien. He regards it like a weird dream the next morning, and remains focused on more pressing concerns (Stephanie, crashing the meeting with Commander Cigarettes, etc.). Don's newfound tenacity seems to have cleared away the cobwebs, as we're seeing his usual palliative "fixes" (philandering, drinking, etc.) recede in favour of more substantial matters (i.e., relocating a sense of professional and personal fulfilment via the agency and Sally). The consequence of this internal reshuffling is that Megan is revealed to be grouped in alongside those other "fixes," and may therefore have to similarly recede in order to facilitate Don's growth. The erosion of their relationship remains a consistent focus, after all, with Megan feeling threatened by the (purer?) intimacy shared between Stephanie and Don. They both know Don's secrets, but there was something about Stephanie that suggested not only retained knowledge, but understanding.

[Lucky]

Well at least that Ginsberg moment in the stellar episode "Far Away Places" finally paid off. Not that I needed another reason to love that episode.

[slqrick]

Best Peggy/Don scenes since "The Suitcase."

[DavidSeven]

Entire episode had a "calm before the storm" quality to it. I'll be interested to see how things get ratcheted up.

I'm happy about how they worked out the Don/Peggy stuff. For a bit, I was concerned that they were making her too antagonistic, which many shows seem prone to do with their female characters (Mad Men being no exception e.g., Betty).

[Lucky]

Best Peggy/Don scenes since "The Suitcase."

Chills down the spine. Good television is so rewarding. They mined a perfect balance between these two, thankfully Don was having a good weekend and didn't act like an asshole.

[ledfloyd]

Nothing after that glorious finale? That last scene was pure bliss.

[slqrick]

Absolutely sublime. Just really, can we give Hamm a damn Emmy already? That fucking scene man.

[Qrazy]

Absolutely sublime. Just really, can we give Hamm a damn Emmy already? That fucking scene man.

What scene?

[amberlita]

What scene?

He means the last scene. Hamm's wordless acting was indeed a slice of perfection.

I'm not sure I understand Joan's muted hostility toward Don. I do like the Peggy has lightened up in the last few episodes, though. It's interesting that for the majority of the season, Peggy was trying to be Don on her own and became almost unlikably bitter and spiteful. Now that Don himself is helping her to be Don, she's smoothed out some of her rough edges that dominated the first part of the season. I never thought I'd see the day when Don could be a positive therapeutic influence on someone else.

[Gittes]

He means the last scene. Hamm's wordless acting was indeed a slice of perfection.

It was very good. It's precisely the kind of thing that Hamm excels at. I liked the way the episode concluded with a scene that is so markedly different from Mad Men's typical narrative and aesthetic tendencies (but without forgoing the usual dollop of pathos that the show so reliably purveys). It also clearly served as an affectionate sendoff for Robert Morse, as it really indulged in the actor's talent and magnetism, which had heretofore been offered in comparatively more measured and tempered forms.

On another note, I think I was more moved by Peggy and Don's exchange during the Burger Chef pitch than their slow dance last week (i.e., Peggy is knocking it out of the park and takes a moment to glance at Don, whose pride and affection is palpable).

I also thought they did a great job with Megan and Don's separation: no heated confrontation, but rather, a weary capitulation to the increasingly apparent fact of their incompatibility. It's certainly an unsurprising, logical conclusion, which was telegraphed as early as the finale of Season 4 (which concluded with a shot of Don in bed with Megan, staring out the window in a gesture of vague discontentment). Still, it's sad to see the characters finally release their grip on any hopeful delusions (i.e., Don to Megan during last season's finale, "We can be happy again"). The formative bliss of their Disney Land sojourn is finally accepted as an irrevocable dream.

Megan's closing words, "you don't owe me anything," were particularly devastating, especially if read in relation to this season's premiere. In that first episode, during the scene with Don and Neve Campbell's character, the latter is discussing her husband and says, "He died of thirst. His company sent him to a hospital. I went with him. I was supposed to part of the cure, somehow...and all I did was observe." Somewhere amidst the discussion and recaps that followed the premiere, someone noted the connection between Campbell's dialogue and Megan's role in Don's life. The line from the finale definitely recalls this dialogue, while also serving as a disheartening epitaph to Don and Megan's relationship. Megan was initially poised as the miraculous antidote to Don's psychic ills back in Season 4, especially during the fleeting utopia they shared in Disney Land. Of course, she could only buoy Don's spirits for so long, and her renewing influence was quickly reduced (as Dr. Faye Miller so shrewdly noted, "I hope she knows you only like the beginnings of things"). Soon enough, she felt alienated from her husband, and could similarly only observe (and, as time went on, she observed with less and less clarity).

In the Season 5 premiere, there was this striking moment when Megan addresses Don as "Dick Whitman," which not only signalled that Weiner et al wouldn't be going back to that dramatic well (i.e., when will she find out about Don's past?), but also suggested that perhaps this relationship will be built on a more secure foundation of actual transparency and intimacy. The friction between these idealistic, romantic beginnings and the resignation of Don and Megan in the finale is heartbreaking. While this isn't a shocking or sudden development, a sense of tragedy is achieved, as the inception of this marriage was presented in such an endearing light (I'm referring specifically to the last few episodes of Season 4) -- it was naive and bizarre, certainly, but there was also a vividly conveyed sense of how these two approached the relationship with earnest affection and hope.



I'm not sure I understand Joan's muted hostility toward Don. I do like the Peggy has lightened up in the last few episodes, though. It's interesting that for the majority of the season, Peggy was trying to be Don on her own and became almost unlikably bitter and spiteful. Now that Don himself is helping her to be Don, she's smoothed out some of her rough edges that dominated the first part of the season. I never thought I'd see the day when Don could be a positive therapeutic influence on someone else.

As Bert put it in the finale, "Don cost her a million dollars when we didn't go public." Also, there's the fact that Don summarily fired Herb (and Jaguar), which prompted Joan's understandably furious and indignant reaction, as that move kind of devalued her sacrifice. This recalls another of Bert's lines: "I'm a leader, and a leader is loyal to his team. Don doesn't understand that."

[Qrazy]

*shrug*

[Mara]

I thought this was excellent. The last couple of seasons haven't been too consistent, but when the show is firing on all cylinders it's still quite the narrative punch.

Don's relationships are starting to mirror Roger's in an uncanny way. Married to the mother of his children, habitually unfaithful, bitterly divorced. She remarried quickly. He hops into bed with his much younger secretary, marries her with very little forethought, and then they drift apart until their final separation is nearly bloodless.

Meridith's pathetic attempted seduction scene was hilarious.

Sally Draper is becoming her mother so literally I wonder if she realizes it herself. Look at the way she holds that cigarette. Look at her lacquered blonde hair helmet.

I had wondered if they were ever going to acknowledge that Julio is very close in age to the child Peggy gave up (who would be about 8.) But the scene where she finds herself unexpectedly moved by the information that he is leaving, and her misleading the Burger Chef people into thinking she had a son put a pin in that nicely.

And I for one loved the final song and dance number. It's a nice call-back to other moments of magical realism in the series, like Anna and the suitcase, or the extended dream/drug sequences in The Crash. I was also heavily reminded of the scenes in the middle of the night at Sterling Cooper after Roger had his heart attack, with Peggy coming in and gently taking care of business. I think they even referenced Edna Blankenship's obituary (one of my all-time favorite Roger moments) when he calls her an astronaut.

[Mara]

Also possibly deliberate: the way the women were dressed and their stiff-armed holding of office supplies reminded me of "A Secretary is Not a Toy" from How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying... starring Robert Morse, of course.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jIw86LC9ugo

[Gittes]

Here's an interesting tidbit that might be news to some of you: Robert Towne joined the show as a consulting producer (http://www.rollingstone.com/movies/news/matthew-weiner-and-the-end-of-mad-men-20140408#ixzz32tVhHPHZ) this season (http://www.rollingstone.com/movies/news/matthew-weiner-and-the-end-of-mad-men-20140408) (I found this out shortly before the season began and it amplified my excitement).


One new thing that happened this season is that Robert Towne, the legendary screenwriter of everything from Chinatown to Mission: Impossible, joined the writers' room. What did he bring to it?

He's brought a lot to it. He's one of the greatest living screenwriters, if not the greatest, and he has a lot of story to contribute. Everyone in the room works harder, because we want to impress him. And you have someone in the room who, like all great writers, can think on a very personal level. It's not about flash. And when we get down to the nitty gritty of what we're writing about here, when Robert likes it, I know it's good.

[ledfloyd]

The euphoria of the last scene made me forget that the phone call between Don and Megan actually made me tear up a bit.

[Melville]

The euphoria of the last scene made me forget that the phone call between Don and Megan actually made me tear up a bit.
This season has really nailed those strained phone calls.


I liked the finale a lot. This show continues to be my favorite thing on tv by miles. After last season, I thought it may have repeated the same points too many times and pretty much done everything it could with Don's character arc. But this season pleasantly surprised me with how it handled Don in a totally new position of powerlessness, one he struggled to overcome but sometimes seemed happier with; it was a very different struggle from what's come before, with a lot more acceptance involved, and more of a willingness to take meaningful relationships where he can get them.

And I like how once he's got what he was ostensibly fighting for—his "real" job back—he is depressed by it. In one way, this is kind of disappointingly a retread of what we've seen multiple times before: Don gets what he wants and is still miserable, both because what he wanted isn't the perfect thing he imagined would cure his misery and because no matter what he gets, he still has to live with his past—and worse, he still has to live as himself. But in the last scene of the finale, there's a new slant to it. It's not just that he's been reminded by a song and dance that he lost his marriage, but he's also realized that even though he's constantly driven to gain power and control, he really was happier just doing the work. The devastation of last season seems to have changed the tenor of his conflict with himself. He used to hate himself for always doing wrong, for living a lie, and for alienating himself from everyone around him. But now I think he's started to struggle more with the nature of the lie, with whether he really likes the power that he always fights for and that comes as a part of the Don Draper facade.

Before the season began, I thought that the show was most likely going to end with him totally giving up his powerful-man persona and becoming plain old Dick Whitman (metaphorically speaking). And that still seems likely, but now I'm wondering if it will just end with him more cognizant than ever of wishing he weren't himself.

[ledfloyd]

I liked the finale a lot. This show continues to be my favorite thing on tv by miles. After last season, I thought it may have repeated the same points too many times and pretty much done everything it could with Don's character arc. But this season pleasantly surprised me

I agree. Season six made me wonder if Weiner had run out of things to say with these characters, but this half-season has reminded me why this is my favorite show on television.

[DavidSeven]

I thought that was a good place to "pause." I was actually surprised that so much of it felt as emotionally cathartic as it did, though I'm sure that will change with Don in perpetual emotional limbo. I'm glad that they didn't end on a more blatant cliff-hanger. This really did feel like a "mini-season." Peggy with her own "Carousal" moment and Pete being intensely loyal to Don are things I especially appreciate. My only major note on the season is that Lou Avery was a disappointingly nothing character. They're usually better about making their antagonists interesting in some way.

Still my favorite thing on TV.

[Gittes]

I thought that was a good place to "pause." I was actually surprised that so much of it felt as emotionally cathartic as it did, though I'm sure that will change with Don in perpetual emotional limbo. I'm glad that they didn't end on a more blatant cliff-hanger. This really did feel like a "mini-season." Peggy with her own "Carousal" moment and Pete being intensely loyal to Don are things I especially appreciate. My only major note on the season is that Lou Avery was a disappointingly nothing character. They're usually better about making their antagonists interesting in some way.

Still my favorite thing on TV.

I agree with you wholeheartedly about Peggy's Burger Chef pitch and Pete's loyalty to Don; the bond between those three characters is interesting. I liked Pete's line about Don from the finale: "That's a very sensitive piece of horseflesh. He shouldn't be rattled!"

Based on some of the discussions I've perused, Lou inspired a lot of ire in the fan base, which says a lot about Allan Havey's very good performance (he does a great job of capturing a man who is cantankerous, supercilious and, above all, aggressively bland). I agree that more could be done with him (he's not necessarily gone, though, is he?). The "Scout's Honor" revelation was interesting, as it suggested that Lou's bland competence is not only unpleasant for viewers, but that Lou himself feels stifled by his own dull efficiency, as he's a man who is quietly haunted by unfulfilled dreams.

Also, he was interesting as a journeyman variation on the creative director role, which Don obviously inflected with considerably more passion and theatricality. In "The Monolith," Bert spares Don no quarter, telling him, "you thought there'd be a great creative crisis and we'd pull you off the bench, but in fact, we've been doing just fine." While this is technically true, Don's absence is most keenly felt in Lou's scenes, as the latter's workmanlike competence is so uninspired and vanilla. Don's contributions came from personal aches and unchecked egocentricity, but this also granted him access to a level of temerity and insight that Lou could never offer. This is not to say that Lou's own personal aches and egocentricity didn't inform his character, but they certainly didn't yield anything comparable to Don's creative, persuasive talents.

This also reminds me of one my favourite, smaller moments from the season. In "The Runaways," when Lou asks Don if he would just let everyone go home early, Don replies, with a perfect look of muted resentment, "No, I'd let you go, Lou." I love the way that this scene so quietly conveys the very ample animosity shared between these two characters. It's also a very interesting beat in Don's arc as a humbled, diminished figure: he's no longer afforded the luxury of exploiting his "indispensable" authority in order to settle scores (i.e., humiliating Ted, firing Herb, etc.). Don's strained, "No, I'd let you go, Lou" are the words of a man who is admirably learning to discipline so many of the urges that he once embraced with total abandon. Also, Hamm's delivery is such a great mixture of resigned powerlessness and seething contempt. So, on the one hand, it inspires our sympathy and admiration, but it's also a surprisingly electric confrontation, albeit in miniature form. Don comes the closest to voicing the dislike that certain fans harbour against Lou, and the latter's response is brutal: "Well, I'm afraid it's too late for that. I'm going to do you the courtesy of reading these, so that you can continue to work on them instead of coming up with new things...because I'm going to tuck you in tonight."

[quido8_5]

This really did feel like a "mini-season." Peggy with her own "Carousal" moment and Pete being intensely loyal to Don are things I especially appreciate.

Still my favorite thing on TV.

Agree with both these points. The little moments that carry so much weight (Peggy's delivery of the 10-year-old line followed by Pete's confused look, the mutual apology between Don and Megan, Betty's description of her relationship with Don, etc.) are what set this show apart. It's respect for the characters and depth of storytelling is something perhaps unique on network television- maybe television in general. After revisiting the first two seasons, it's astounding how increasingly rich the dialogue gets with the distance of time.

In other news, I thought Sally's move was more Don than Betty. First, that she even responded to her dad's admonition of "don't be so cynical" and that she then used her sexuality to utterly intimidate someone of the opposite sex. Then smoked a cigarette. Shit, she might as well be the silhouette from the title sequence. Also, after discussing the why-the-fuck-is-Joan-so-pissed-at-Don question with my wife, it seems like it started with Jaguar (where Don's arrogance ruined the sacrifice Joan made) and the pitch to Hershey added insult to injury. Thus, clear animosity that (hopefully) will be fleshed out next half-season.

It's a shame that Elizabeth Moss won't get the Emmy this year because she's a shoe-in next year. It will be hard for her to top this last stretch- the scenes between Peggy and Don are consistently the most rewarding for me, on top of which she's had the most challenging role this season (because, unlike everyone else pretty much, she still really gives a shit about advertising).